# Shifting Gears (TV series)

Shifting Gears is an American television sitcom created by Julie Thacker Scully and Mike Scully for ABC through 20th Television. The series stars Tim Allen, Kat Dennings, Seann William Scott, Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins, and Barrett Margolis. It premiered on ABC on January 8, 2025.

## Premise

A widower who runs an auto shop reluctantly takes in his estranged daughter and her two children.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Tim Allen as Matt Parker
* Kat Dennings as Riley Parker
* Seann William Scott as Gabriel
* Daryl Chill Mitchell as Stitch
* Maxwell Simkins as Carter
* Barrett Margolis as Georgia

### Recurring

* Cynthia Quiles as Frankie
* Jenna Elfman as Eve Drake

### Guest stars

* Brenda Song as Caitlyn Baker
* Lucas Neff as Jimmy, Riley's estranged husband
* Nancy Travis as Charlotte
* Jay Leno as himself

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Restoration" | John Pasquin | Julie Thacker Scully & Mike Scully | January 8, 2025 (2025-1-8) | 1ZHF01 | 6.10 |
| 2 | "Accomodations" | John Pasquin | Bob Daily | January 15, 2025 (2025-1-15) | 1ZHF03 | 4.56 |
| 3 | "Job" | John Pasquin | Jim Patterson | January 22, 2025 (2025-1-22) | 1ZHF02 | 4.61 |
| 4 | "Grief" | Danielle Fishel | Morgan Murphy | January 29, 2025 (2025-1-29) | 1ZHF04 | 4.28 |
| 5 | "Jimmy" | Victor Gonzalez | Kevin Hench | February 5, 2025 (2025-2-5) | 1ZHF05 | 4.32 |
| 6 | "Valentine's" | John Pasquin | Feraz Ozel | February 12, 2025 (2025-2-12) | 1ZHF06 | 4.53 |
| 7 | "Picnic" | John Pasquin | Michelle Nader & Saladin K. Patterson | February 26, 2025 (2025-2-26) | 1ZHF07 | 3.44 |
| 8 | "Career" | John Pasquin | Maya Ayele & Clea DeCrane | March 5, 2025 (2025-3-5) | 1ZHF08 | 3.71 |
| 9 | "Gummies" | Victor Gonzalez | Bob Daily | March 12, 2025 (2025-3-12) | 1ZHF09 | 3.82 |
| 10 | "Kiss" | TBA | TBA | March 19, 2025 (2025-3-19) | TBA | TBD |

## Production

A pilot episode was ordered in March 2024 made by 20th Television and written by Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully. The project was given a series order by ABC in July 2024. It is from the studio 20th Television and starring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings. Mike Scully and Julie Thacker Scully were involved in the pilot but left the project. Allen executive produces with Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, Richard Baker, Rick Messina and pilot director John Pasquin. Michelle Nader joined as showrunner and executive producer in September 2024. Dennings is also a producer. Jim Patterson, Bob Daily and John Amodeo also executive produce.
Seann William Scott joined the cast of the series in October 2024. Also in the cast for the series are Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, Maxwell Simkins and Barrett Margolis. In November 2024, Brenda Song was cast to guest star. In December 2024, Jenna Elfman joined the cast in a recurring role.
Shifting Gears is filmed at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. The series premiered on ABC on January 8, 2025.

## Reception
### Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 47% approval rating with an average rating of 3.3/10, based on 15 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Shifting Gears has a formidable pair of sitcom stars in Tim Allen and Kat Dennings, but flavorless characters and flat jokes keep their new comedic vehicle stuck in neutral." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 51 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.

### Ratings

The premiere of Shifting Gears on January 8, 2025, set an audience record for ABC, amassing nearly 17 million multi-platform viewers in its first seven days across ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, and digital platforms. This marks a 173% increase over its same-day audience of 6.2 million. The episode also garnered around 12.5 million viewers without counting linear encores, still up 101% from the same-day audience, making it ABC's strongest series debut since The Conners in 2018 and the broadcaster's most-watched streaming debut to date.
Viewership and ratings per episode of Shifting Gears :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Restoration" | January 8, 2025 | 0.7/8 | 6.10 | 0.2 | 1.28 | 0.8 | 7.38 |
| 2 | "Accomodations" | January 15, 2025 | 0.4/5 | 4.56 | 0.2 | 1.59 | 0.6 | 6.15 |
| 3 | "Job" | January 22, 2025 | 0.5/6 | 4.61 | 0.2 | 1.95 | 0.7 | 6.56 |
| 4 | "Grief" | January 29, 2025 | 0.4/5 | 4.28 | 0.2 | 1.57 | 0.6 | 5.87 |
| 5 | "Jimmy" | February 5, 2025 | 0.4/5 | 4.32 | 0.2 | 1.50 | 0.6 | 5.82 |
| 6 | "Valentine's" | February 12, 2025 | 0.4/6 | 4.53 | 0.2 | 1.62 | 0.6 | 6.16 |
| 7 | "Picnic" | February 26, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 3.44 | 0.2 | 1.60 | 0.5 | 5.05 |
| 8 | "Career" | March 5, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 3.71 | 0.2 | 1.60 | 0.5 | 5.31 |
| 9 | "Gummies" | March 12, 2025 | 0.3/5 | 3.82 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Elfman is credited as "Special Guest Star" but is a recurring cast member.